Crossroads (An Evil Deku Fanfic)

Chapter 2: Perception

Izuku POV:

Fire is so beautiful.

Though it sounds like such a weird thing to say, it truly is beautiful. The twisting flames moving as fast as the wind, the white-hot base of the fire spouting orange and yellow, and the red sparks floating above. The dim crackle of the wood dissolving into dust becoming the smoke that floats in black clouds up to the sky.

It's beautiful. Even more so when I can see a plastic All Might doll melting in the center. All my posters were torn up and shriveled into black curls as they were devoured by the flames. I watched everything I had once adored become nothing more than ash. For some strange reason, that ash made the corners of my mouth tilt up in a sort of wicked grin.

My hands slumped in my hoodie pocket. Something about the hypnotic dance of the fire made me want to burn more useless objects. Instead, I doused the fire before mom got home from the store so she didn't see it.

"Hey, Izuku," Mom called, "Can you come in and help me with some groceries?"

I called back and commenced to drag my feet through the house to the kitchen. Mom tried to talk to me, so I kept muttering "uh-huh" and "that's nice" so she thought I was listening. What I was actually listening to were my thoughts. I was thinking about what I had done and said to Kacchan. I wasn't regretting it (he deserved it like hell), but I guess I was wondering why I hadn't stood up to him before. 

Maybe for the exact same reason he didn't fight back. It wasn't "Hero-like".

"Heroes have so many rules..." I muttered.

"What was that?" Mom asked.

I stammered to cover up what I had said, "Uh-um! I said heroes are so very cool! Yeah! So very, very cool!" I laughed nervously. So very cool? Ugh. I thought, who says that?! Man, she must be really suspicious. I'm a bad liar.

"So... very, very cool?" She cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "...Well, I suppose they are cool, but that's a strange way to put it."

"Haha, well you know me!" I laughed again, "Your strange son! I'm so very, very strange! Heheheheh... I say... strange things! Sometimes. You know, y-you know how I- say weird...things..." I gave her a helpless grin and hoped she bought it.

"Well, I don't know why you brought up heroes, though," She looked puzzled, "I was telling you about my conversation with Mitsuki in the store."

"Oh! Well, Mitsuki-san's son, y-you know her son, um, Katsuki, right? Wait, of course you know him. Well, you know h-he wants to be a hero, so I uh, started thinking about heroes, and I, uh, yeah. Kacchan is very, very cool. Y'know, cuz' he's gonna be a hero and heroes are-"

"So very, very cool?"

"Yeah!" I said, "Yeah, yeah, he's cool. Um, this is weird..." I chuckled nervously, pulling at my collar.

"Are you... are you okay, Izuku?" She squinted, "You're not acting like you do when you're-"

"Puberty!" I shouted, louder than I wanted to, "...I'm a teenager. It's a phase. I'm just going through puberty. It's nothing, really. I'm just awkward, and socially uncomfortable, and depressed, and no one understands me, and I'm going to leave now!"

I bolted out of the room and didn't wait for her response. Like I said, I'm a bad liar. I ran out of the apartment and slammed the door behind me. I leaned up against the door for a second, then pulled out my phone. A certain news headline caught my attention: HERO KILLER STAIN STRIKES AGAIN. Stain? I'd heard the name before but never paid much attention to it. He kills heroes, huh? I clicked on the link and started reading. It depicted him as some kind of twisted monster who takes mercy only on a few. Well, as a dedicated fanboy, I have incredible detection for weakness or intention. And the fact that he leaves some heroes alive must mean he has a reason not to kill them.